Johns Hopkins — Bad for undergrad experience?

[Anonymous]

The people I know who went there, except for one person I don’t like very much. It isn’t for everyone, but for some it is perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd was able to do an overnight visit before she applied. She ended up hating it and refused to apply. See if your kid can do that

You are the third person I’ve heard of whose kid changed their mind after an overnight there. That plus the fact the student who did the virtual tour recently was terrible makes me think the school isn’t good at picking their representatives. That could be a sign that they don’t care that much, compared to other schools, about attracting undergrads.

It seems you are determined to not like it. Have your kid do an in person visit.

+1

[Anonymous]

Current student at Hopkins! It's a little strange here during a pandemic. Your DD sounds like a great fit for Hopkins! We have great programs for pretty much everything except journalism. We do care about school a lot, but you can make your schedule as light or as hard as you want it. We're not cutthroat or competitive. We actually don't talk about grades a lot surprisingly. Most of the social scene is exploring Baltimore's many neighborhoods and going out to bars/resturants. There is a party scene here with the frats/sororities, but it's much more low-key. We have a very extensive week-long orientation and you'll get an upperclassmen mentor and a cohort group (which is where I've made some of my good friends) during your first year to guide you along the way. There's also plenty of clubs and intramural sports to get involved with. We even have a fire-spinners club! I've loved my time here so far. Our school spirit can be lacking sometimes, but we do have big events like lacrosse games, Spring Fair, Lighting of the Quad, etc. It's been a great undergrad experience here so far and would recommend it if you want to be in a great diverse city surrounded by really bright and driven people who really push you to be the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd was able to do an overnight visit before she applied. She ended up hating it and refused to apply. See if your kid can do that

You are the third person I’ve heard of whose kid changed their mind after an overnight there. That plus the fact the student who did the virtual tour recently was terrible makes me think the school isn’t good at picking their representatives. That could be a sign that they don’t care that much, compared to other schools, about attracting undergrads.

This is interesting. I have a senior. Pre-covid, we did an info tour and it was boring and bland. I hate to say that but it really was. (We didn't get to take the tour bc my kid got sick, but I would have liked to take the tour)

[Anonymous]

Undergrad life is miserable, because OMG, students actually have to put in hard work to get good grades, unlike many of the other unis out there who hand out As like free candy.

[Anonymous]

JH is a great school, but Baltimore seems like an awful place to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JH is a great school, but Baltimore seems like an awful place to live.

And yet hundreds of thousands of people live there happily. Weird!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:JH is a great school, but Baltimore seems like an awful place to live.

And yet hundreds of thousands of people live there happily. Weird!

Ironically making a way broader assumption than me simply stating my personal opinion.

[Anonymous]

My nephew graduated from college last year, but he had started his first year at JHU before transferring out. To be blunt, he absolutely hated it, citing the student culture. Premeds are apparently all extremely competitive, and then non-premeds are sort of made to feel like second class citizens.

[Anonymous]

I did my undergrad there in the early 90s. Not premed. It’s not a school with a lot of hand holding but that was fine with me. I have nothing to compare it to but I went to plenty of parties, had interesting friends , smoked weed, the usual college stuff. And while Baltimore gets a bad rap the Charles Village area where most students live is great ( and so much nicer now!). It’s certainly not for everyone, it’s culture is pretty pre-professional, but it certainly wasn’t miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not a great school for undergrad, and students there will often be the first to tell you that.

Not this undergrad. It always is the people who never attended Hopkins that like to chime in on these threads.

Sorry —Hopkins PhD. TA’d at both Homewood and medical campus. Lots of afternoons over the years helping undergrads. Agree they weren’t the coterie of lax bro’s (they generally weren’t in my department).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did my undergrad there in the early 90s. Not premed. It’s not a school with a lot of hand holding but that was fine with me. I have nothing to compare it to but I went to plenty of parties, had interesting friends , smoked weed, the usual college stuff. And while Baltimore gets a bad rap the Charles Village area where most students live is great ( and so much nicer now!). It’s certainly not for everyone, it’s culture is pretty pre-professional, but it certainly wasn’t miserable.

Are you me? Had the same experience in the 90s. I have a fondness for the quirkiness that is JHU experience of and Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did my undergrad there in the early 90s. Not premed. It’s not a school with a lot of hand holding but that was fine with me. I have nothing to compare it to but I went to plenty of parties, had interesting friends , smoked weed, the usual college stuff. And while Baltimore gets a bad rap the Charles Village area where most students live is great ( and so much nicer now!). It’s certainly not for everyone, it’s culture is pretty pre-professional, but it certainly wasn’t miserable.

Are you me? Had the same experience in the 90s. I have a fondness for the quirkiness that is JHU experience of and Baltimore.

Pp - oh good glad I’m not the only one! I totally have a soft spot in my heart for Baltimore end even though I didn’t really know how to take advantage of the all the resources that Hopkins offered got a great education there. I’m not in the area and hadn’t been back until a couple of years ago when I was back for a meeting so went to campus to walk around. It has changed so much - in great ways! Though i barely recognized Charles Village, it’s gone pretty upscale.

[Anonymous]

It’s an elite pressure cooker, especially among premeds and engineering undergrads. Lots of wealthy, smart kids. Lots of preps. Baltimore is old money if you know where to look and those kids are legacies at Hopkins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not a great school for undergrad, and students there will often be the first to tell you that.

Not this undergrad. It always is the people who never attended Hopkins that like to chime in on these threads.

Sorry —Hopkins PhD. TA’d at both Homewood and medical campus. Lots of afternoons over the years helping undergrads. Agree they weren’t the coterie of lax bro’s (they generally weren’t in my department).

I am married to a Hopkins PhD and had a 20 year career at Hopkins. During that time my department employed a bunch of students. Every single one of those students was impressive, hard-working, and capable. And they all seem to be having a perfectly good time. I followed the careers of some of them after graduation and they’ve all gone off to do interesting things!

If an intense nerdy atmosphere is right for your kid, I believe your kid can have a good experience there.